Adam Heaslip believes in tradition. He is a man of principle, after all, and as he’ll tell you, some things are just too important to miss.

“It’s why I’ve missed class during the first two days of the NCAA tournament since I was in eighth grade,” the graduate business student said. “It’s the greatest two days of the year.”

Before he graduated to skipping class completely, Heaslip used to bring a radio to middle school. He would hide the cord under his shirt and blend in like your typical seventh grade chemistry student.

But that plan backfired the year Mike Miller hit a buzzer beater to lift Florida over Butler and he went nuts in the middle of class.

“I told the teacher I was really excited about oxidation,” he said, laughing.

Heaslip loves the NCAA tournament with a devotion usually reserved for marriage vows. Start talking to him about the NCAA tournament and he literally won’t shut up. He rattles off names from the past like Tyus Edny, Brett Blizzard and Miles Simon as if they were his childhood friends. His favorite tournament memory, though, is Bryce Drew’s game winner from 1998.

“It brought tears to my eyes,” Heaslip said.  

Heaslip makes most college basketball fans look like they belong in AAA. His preparation for the tournament begins long before conference tournament week. He’s been on his couch watching almost every mid-major game since December. Last month it may as well have been a national holiday when ESPN televised Drake vs. Butler.

Sometimes being so committed can be a burden. Last year, Heaslip was vacationing in Mexico during the first week of the tournament.

“I combed the streets looking for an English speaking sports bar,” he said. “I found one just in time to watch Duke lose. It was wonderful.”

This year there will be no such obstacles. Heaslip has his schedule for today all planned out. He’ll sleep in as late as he can, which means 7 a.m. because he’ll “just be too excited to sleep.”

Then it’s four hours of pre-game shows followed by 16 games in 13 hours; a sensual smorgasbord of watching games, drinking beers and checking brackets.  

“You’ve got to be a warrior,” Heaslip said. “Some people will watch for a little bit and then go to the bar. I’ll be on the couch from tip-off of game one to the final buzzer of the last game of the night.”

That’s just how the tradition goes. The only downside this year is he might not be able to marvel at his name in print until Monday. That’s because The Ithacan comes out the very same day the Tournament starts.

But that’s OK. Some things are just too important to miss.